Evil's Game
by Matt Lundahl
Summary: The First evil taunts the Scoobies as figures from their pasts; set shortly after (First Date).
1. Evil's Game

He sat on his hard cot, staring at the walls with boredom. It was daylight, not much to do. The slayer was at work, the witch was at class, as were the key and a potential. There was absolutely nothing to satisfy his time. Spike's ear twitched as footsteps came clomping down the stairs.  
"Hi Spike! I brought you some orange juice and a cupcake, because I thought you might be hungry." Andrew had the meal on a tray and offered it to the vampire. Spike stared into the boys eyes in confusion, then looked down at the tray. "What? Is something wrong?"  
"I don't drink orange juice." Spike replied, looking annoyed.  
"Well, do you want the cupcake then? I made the icing red. For you." Andrew smiled; Spike looked up to see Andrew nodded emphatically. Spike rolled his eyes and took the cupcake. He placed his hands, with the cupcake, in his lap.  
"Thank you." he said quietly.  
"You're quite welcome." Andrew smiled once more and lifted the orange juice from the tray, taking a sip. He stood awkwardly, tray in one hand, orange juice in the other, and looked around at the ceiling. Spike looked back to him, puzzled. Andrew caught his glance and the two stared for a moment. "Um... so... how's the cupcake?"  
"...I haven't eaten it yet..." Spike replied. Andrew nodded, then continued to stand in the same place. "Would you like to..."  
"Sit?" Andrew asked excitedly, sitting on the edge of Spike's cot.  
"...leave...?" Spike watched as Andrew stood sadly, and slowly trudged back up the stairs. Spike rested his back on the cold wall and began to eat the cupcake.  
"For a moment I thought you and the boy were having a tender moment! Making me jealous little Spikey... now you know better than that!" a soft British voice mumbled. Spike turned his head to see Drusilla standing across the room. "You remember what happened to the last girl you tried to use in order to make me jealous, don't you?"  
"First of all, 'Dru', the last girl I did that with..." Spike stood, leaving the cupcake on the cot, "...was the slayer. And nothing happened." Drusilla scoffed and looked at the floor, her hands clasped in front of her. "And secondly, you can't get me to do anything for you anymore!" Drusilla smiled and looked into his eyes.  
"I've always been able to make you do things. Ever since that night we met..." she began. Spike turned, walking back towards his cot.  
"You aren't Drusilla! You aren't her! You're the bloody first, again!" Spike screamed.  
"I was your first? Oh, Spikey..." Drusilla started.  
"This isn't working." Spike replied as he sat back on the cot and raised his arms to the chains behind him.  
"What are you doing, Spike? Are we playing a game?" Drusilla asked as she stepped toward him. "Are we going to play doctor?"  
"Shut up!" Spike locked his left arm into one of the chains, then began to shackle the other.  
"How can you do that with only one hand?" Drusilla asked. "Would you like me to help?"  
"Well, Dru, considering you can't actually touch anything, it would be more trouble than it's worth. Oh, just like YOU were!" Spike exclaimed, continuing his effort.  
"Well, certainly you can't do this alone! You most definately need help to shackle yourself. You were never fully competant..." Drusilla continued.  
"ANDREW! I need some HELP!" Spike screamed, continuing his efforts.  
"That's right, bring the boy down. The two of you can have another tender moment. Well..." Drusilla examined the chains, "...perhaps MORE tender than last time..." Andrew came a few steps down, hurrying.  
"Yes, Spike?" he asked, not fully in the basement.  
"Nevermind! GO AWAY!" Spike yelled, glaring at Drusilla.  
"Aw, no fun time?" Drusilla watched Andrew trudge sadly back up the steps. "One day the two of you will finally get together..."  
"What do you want, Dru?" Spike finally managed to shackle his other arm. He slipped the key into his mouth and spit it across the room. "Now I'm useless to you..."  
"You were ALWAYS useless to me, Spike. I just liked having you around. Seeing your face when me and Angelus would be intimate..." Spike grimaced. "Oh, baby... don't worry. Soon, Spike. We shall have more fun, soon."  
"Sod off." Drusilla stradled over Spike, giggling a little. She leaned back and stared at the ceiling. Spike's eyes widened. "Now I KNOW you're not Drusilla. She was never that flexible..."  
"Look at the stars!" she exclaimed, still staring at the ceiling.  
"Yes, very nice." Spike rolled his eyes. "I usually just call it a ceiling, but whatever you like, Dru." Spike looked to the small window close to the ceiling of the basement. Drusilla followed his gaze and smiled.  
"Spike, dear Spike... would you like to go outside? Play in the sunshine?" Drusilla laughed emphatically. "Silly, silly boy." she placed her finger above his lip, tracing the shape. "You're beginning to think that you're human!" Spike bit at her finger, phasing through her non-coporeal essence.  
"I need a fag." Drusilla raised an eyebrow. "ANDREW!" Spike screamed; Drusilla smiled and stepped off of Spike.  
"I didn't mean it, Spike... I was kidding..." Drusilla slipped back to the other side of the room, watching as Andrew came back down the stairs, then stood before Spike.  
"Spike, do you actually NEED me this time or... why are you chained up?" Andrew gave a puzzled look, then noticed the cupcake still on the cot. "Why didn't you eat my cupcake?"  
"Andrew, I need a fag." Spike told him.  
"WHAT?" Andrew asked. "Well, I'm not... you don't think I... how did you..." Andrew babbled.  
"A CIGARETTE." Spike repeated, angrily.  
"Oh. Okay. You Englishmen have crazy words for everything. Where are they?" Andrew asked.  
"They're in the pocket of my pants..." Spike began. Andrew slowly stepped forward and Spike watched as Drusilla stood over Andrew's shoulder, waving her finger back and forth mockingly. Spike flinched as he realised what Dru was doing. Andrew gave another puzzled look and stopped his activity. "Could you... send down a potential girl to do this, actually?"  
"It's okay... I can do it, since I'm here and all..."  
"NO! It's just... I... DO AS I SAY!" Andrew jumped back, looked as if he were going to cry, then ran up the stairs. "Send the lesbian!" Spike let out a sigh, and sat relaxedly once more.  
"Oh, Spike... you made him cry..." Drusilla mocked once more. "Although, I did enjoy that little escapade... what's that?"  
"What?"  
"I hear wedding bells!" Drusilla went into an extreme case of insane laughter, Spike merely rolled his eyes. "Don't ignore me, Spike... you'll never again have as good a friend as I was to you."  
"I have Buffy!" Spike spit through Drusilla.  
"SPIKE! Mind your manners!" Drusilla screamed in shock. "If I could touch you I would stab my finger through your eye and let the worms squiggle through your flesh!"  
"You always WERE the charmer." Spike glared and Drusilla smiled.  
"So. Buffy's your friend now, is she?"  
"A better friend than you could ever dream."  
"Is that why she ties you up down here? Leaves your flesh to rot underneath her home? Locks you up in solitary confinement so that the only sounds you can hear are those made by your non-beating heart? Spike, she's not your friend. She will never BE your friend." Drusilla smiled, kneeling next to him. "I was the only friend you ever HAD. Buffy... Buffy wants you dead. She wants to use you in battle, and dispose of you when you get WEAK!"  
"You're weak."  
"I'm not the one ROTTING in a basement! The SLAYER'S basement, no doubt! You're an abomination! Not even ANGELUS willingly had a soul. You are a disgrace to the vampire WORLD!" Drusilla screamed. "You're weak, and helpless, and nobody will help you clean your wounds because they simply... don't... care."  
"They DO care." Spike snarled. "More than you cared... more than I cared for YOU!"  
"No, Spike... they don't care. The slayer's got the power, but what do you have?" Drusilla asked quizzically.  
"Hope."  
"No. You don't have hope. You don't have faith, love, or anything else belonging to the mortal world that you'd like to think you have. You're perfectly human except for two little things. You're easy to kill, quite flammable, in fact... and nobody loves you but ME."  
"Buffy loves me."  
"No! She thinks you're WEAK!"  
"I'm NOT weak! Not anymore! Buffy made me STRONG!" Spike screamed.  
"NO! I made you strong! Before I came along you were a weapy little poet, crying about how some skinny twit didn't LOVE you. I gave you life, Spike. I made you what you are."  
"She made me what I am. You made me what I was."  
"A person can't change, Spike. And that's what you want to be, isn't it? A person?" Drusilla glared. "You can never BE a person. You can never change. You will always... be... weak..." Spike closed his eyes tightly and looked to the wall.  
"NO!" Spike waited for Drusilla to continue, but she didn't. He reopened his eyes and looked around the room; Drusilla was gone. Relieved, Spike closed his eyes and rethought the event he had just undergone. "First evil..." he mumbled. "you won't get to me..."  
"You know, I did not much care for that woman." Spike heard his own voice. He looked up to see his human self, William the poet, standing before him. "She was a little less... proper than a woman should be..."  
"No..."  
"And she continuously told you that you are weak. Well, that is just rude. Do you have a word to rhyme with efolgant?" William asked, as he stroked back his longer brown hair. "I have been trying to come up with something, but all I get is failure." Spike struggled against the shackled, attempting to get lose and attack his former self. "What ARE you doing?"  
"I plan to KILL you!" Spike exclaimed.  
"And how will you do that? Do you plan to break down the wall and collapse the house in order to crush me? Because, I am, once again, non-coporeal." William explained. Spike sat back once more. "Would you like me to fetch someone? Or, have someone bring you a stake, perhaps?"  
"You wouldn't let me die..." Spike began.  
"I know. But it would be fun to watch you want it." William laughed.  
"Go away! Just... just PISS OFF! I'm TIRED of your games!" Spike screamed. William smiled.  
"Fine. Just remember, 'Spike': you can never be human. You can never be GOOD! You cannot fully embrace your soul until you embrace ME! It is not YOUR soul. It is MINE! I am William. I am you. I am weak, and so are YOU! Embrace THAT, and then maybe, just maybe... you will become human. Maybe then will she love you. But until you realise this; until you once more become William... you will never again know her touch. And she will never let you see her heart." Spike looked to the floor, tears rolling off.  
"Just... just sod off..." he mumbled, sobbing. William chuckled.  
"Goodbye, William." William said as he disappeared.  
  
"Stupid Spike..." Andrew continued to chop up vegetables for lunch, "...trying to drive me insane... playing with my feelings..." Andrew stopped and looked out the window for a moment. "Maybe he knows that..."  
"Knows what?" Andrew swiftly turned around to see Kennedy standing behind him. Andrew let out a sigh and replied.  
"Knows... uhm... nothing." he stared at Kennedy until she quietly left the room, at which point he returned to preparing the meal. He placed them in the water boiling over the stove and began to look through the cupboards for something else.  
"That smells pretty good." a female's voice told him. He nodded.  
"Thank you!" he turned, giving another confused look. "Are... are you a potential?"  
"Well... not exactly." she replied, smiling.  
"Then... if you're not a potential... who are you? Have we... have we met before?"  
"Well... my name's Katrina." she replied, giving a short wave.  
"Katrina... I know that name..."  
"Yeah, I thought you would. Of course... I also thought you'd recognise me."  
"Well, can't win 'em all." Andrew shrugged his shoulders and returned to searching the cupboards.  
"I'm the girl that you and Warren and... the short guy..."  
"Jonathan! He was a cutie." Andrew corrected her.  
"Yeah. Jonathan. I'm the girl that you three... killed." Andrew hit his head hard on the cupboard as he jumped in shock. He slowly stood, turning and rubbing his head.  
"Ka... Katrina?" Andrew began. "Oh... my... It's THE FIRST! AH! I have to get someone! Spike! Spike!" Andrew ran toward the door to the basement.  
"I wouldn't go down there. He's having a moment right now... it's a little wet."  
"Ooh..."  
"No, not good wet." Andrew made a disappointed face. "Now, Andrew. If I had killed YOU..."  
"You won't, will you?" Andrew asked nervously.  
"I can't touch you, of course I won't, moron." Katrina replied. "Jesus! Were all THREE of you guys morons?"  
"Well... we did commit murder... and try to defeat a slayer..." Andrew commented.  
"Do you not CARE that you killed me?" Katrina asked angrily.  
"I DO care! I just... I can't do anything about it. You're dead, and I'm sorry. But I'm, TECHNICALLY, not the one that killed you. Warren put the spell on you, Warren tried to rape you, and Warren hit you on the head, killing you. Jonathan and I really had NO part in that. But I AM sorry about the dying thing. How is it?"  
"It's Hell, bitch-boy!" Katrina screamed. "Well... if you don't care about killing me..."  
"I didn't kill you..." Andrew replied.  
"Then maybe you'll care..." Katrina morphed into Jonathan. "...about killing me. Did it make you feel like a big man?" he asked. "Did it make you part of the group? Part of Buffy's group? You think they'll ever REALLY let you in? After what you've done to ME? To Katrina?"  
"I didn't kill Katrina."  
"But you did kill ME!"  
"I sure did." Andrew replied. He crossed his arms. "Well... it was nice seeing you again, Jonathan. Drop by never." Andrew turned back and began rifling through the cupboards once more.  
"What the Hell? You seemed to care more about killing the girl you didn't kill! Don't you care about ME anymore, Andrew?" Jonathan asked, clutching his chest.  
"I DO care, Jonathan. I will always care. But I've repented for my sins. I'm trying to make up for everything, and wherever the REAL Jonathan is... he knows this... he may not forgive me, but he shouldn't have to." Andrew stood before the first. "I may never be able to make up for what I did to him, but I'm gonna try! And you can't do ANYTHING ABOUT IT!" Andrew punched through Jonathan's stomach.  
"Andrew, I..."  
"That's right, Jonathan-slash-the First! I'm not afraid of you anymore!" Andrew stood tall and crossed his arms defiantly. "That's right, not afraid."  
"Oh, I think you ARE." Jonathan smiled evily. The over timer went off.  
"Excuse me, Jonathan-slash-the First, but my croissants are ready, and I'd prefer to eat them without dead people hanging about." Andrew walked away from the First.  
"Damnit." Jonathan disperced, leaving Andrew alone in the kitchen.  
"Ha! I showed you! Never again will you try and use me like that! I..." Andrew held a spatula above his head in triumph as Giles wandered in, noticed, and promptly wandered back out. "...I'm not retarded! Just... just do you know..."  
  
"I swear... that boy become more moronic every time I see him..." Giles mumbled to himself.  
"And you call yourself a teacher." Giles took off his glasses, rubbing his forehead, and he slowly turned.  
"Actually, I call myself a watcher." he cleaned his glasses, squinting at the figure speaking to him. "Xander?" he placed his glasses back on his face.  
"Not quite. You might remember me as..." he started.  
"Ben."  
"Or, sometimes, Glory. How you been doing Mr. GIles? Well, I presume? And how's Dawn?"  
"Don't touch Dawn." Giles chuckled. "Sorry... forgot that you can't!" Giles sat down in a chair and flipped open a paper.  
"Oh, Mr. Giles... what are you going to do when someone tells Buffy what you did to me?"  
"I don't believe I'll do a lot. I did what was needed. She may not have done it, but she must have figured out that one of the rest of us did it. Otherwise Glory would be running rampant." Giles rolled his eyes.  
"Maybe she thought I died naturally." Ben replied, leaning over Giles's shoulder.  
"Yes, because GODS often die of old age in the span of four months." Giles continued to read.  
"You're quite witty for a killer. Have you ever thought of stand up?" Ben asked.  
"You're not getting to me. I know who you are, I know what you are, and you aren't going to drive me insane by pretending to be a boy who deserved his death. Leave now. You're annoying." Giles flipped his paper up, trying to ignore the first.  
"Well. You didn't care for my death?" Ben asked. "I can't bother you in any way?"  
"No." Giles placed the paper down on his lap, revealing not Ben, but Jenny.  
"How about me?" Jenny asked, leaning in toward Giles. "Did you care for me at all?" Giles stood, throwing the paper through Jenny.  
"You bastard! You have no right to defile Jenny in that manner!" he screamed.  
"Oh, come on, Rupert. You know you like seeing me. Even if it's an evil me." Jenny smiled. "So, tell me... what was it like when you found my dead body in your bed?" Giles turned and walked away; Jenny followed. "Come on, Rupert. I mean, I was there, but I want to hear it from your perspective. Was it as funny to you as it was to me? Me, lying on your bed, surrounded by rose petals. Classical music playing..."  
"STOP!" tears rolled down Giles's face. "You can't do this! You don't know! You aren't her."  
"Wouldn't you love to get back at Angel for doing that to me? For snapping my neck?"  
"Stop..."  
"Do you know how much I screamed that night?"  
"Stop."  
"If I hadn't been wearing heels... I might have had a chance to get away..." Jenny continued.  
"Stop! This isn't funny! Whatever sick and twisted thing you're trying to accomplish by menacing me like this isn't going to work. I won't turn against Buffy, and I will destroy you!" Giles screamed.  
"Rupert! The hostility. I haven't seen you dislike something so much since I hooked up the library computer. Well... maybe you've hated something else that much, but whatever. Not really my problem." Jenny laughed.  
"Who do you think you are..."  
"Jenny Calendar. And you?"  
"You can't play with people's emotions like this!"  
"How about manipulate? Tamper?" Jenny smiled. "You're getting crankier in your old age, Rupert. Too bad we can't get cranky together..."  
"No..."  
"You realise... that if... YOU hadn't cut off communication with me... I could've had you and Willow help me translate... and... and the whole process... you know, of me dying... might never have happened." Jenny pointed out. Giles looked at her sharply.  
"That isn't true. Angelus would've brutally slaughtered you no matter what." Giles replied. Jenny shrugged her shoulders.  
"That's quite true. But maybe we could've had... at least a night together." Jenny placed her hand over his mouth and slowly slid her hand down. "Do you know how much I longed for your touch? How much I just wanted to be with you? And you wouldn't even look me in the eye!"  
"Because you had betrayed..."  
"NO! I was doing my job! I was watching Angel like you were watching Buffy, and somehow both of us lost them! Then we lost each other. And you lost me. I still watch you, you know."  
"Y... you..." Giles stuttered.  
"I watch you, playing opera in the background. I watch you go through your day. Watch you, so depressedly, as you realise that every woman you love leaves you. Me. Joyce. Olivia. We all die. And you know why that is?"  
"Because it's your time."  
"Because we don't love YOU. You love US, but do we return that love? No."  
"Don't lie, Jenny. You loved me as much as I loved you. Joyce and I were NEVER in love, and Olivia... Olivia was in love with someone else."  
"So. You loved me, and Olivia... but you slept with Joyce?" Jenny asked, pouting her lips. "Why is it that you'll give love to others, but not the ones you love?"  
"Who I've slept with is none of your business."  
"Fine." Jenny smiled. "I'll leave then. I'll be waiting, Rupert."  
"I expect that much."  
"Waiting. And watching." Giles burst into tears as Jenny dispersed. 


	2. Evil's Ploy

She rested on the couch, novel on her chest. She had grown bored of it and ended up staring at the ceiling for the greater part of an hour.  
"You look a bit bored, An." Anya rolled to her side and smiled; her book fell to the floor. Anya was a little sleepy, but managed to not drool.  
"Well, Hallie, I... Hallie?" Anya sat up sharply, realising who it was. "Hallie... how are..."  
"I honestly don't know! I've just been wandering around aimlessly, ever since you had me killed, and I..." Hallie began.  
"I didn't have you killed..." Anya started.  
"Oh, Anya. I know the truth, don't worry. I don't blame you. If I were in that position, well... I probably wouldn't have sold YOU out, but you get my meaning..." Hallie smiled.  
"Seriously, Hallie... I didn't have you killed... I expected... I wanted him to kill me..." Anya started. "I..."  
"Anya, sweetheart. It's okay." Hallie stopped her.  
"So... you believe that I didn't have you killed?"  
"No."  
"Why not?" Anya asked, visibly upset.  
"Oh, Anyanka. Calm down." Hallie smiled and sat back.  
"No! Tell me! Why don't you believe me?"  
"Well... D'Hoffryn grants people's wishes, just like the rest of us. I believe... if you had wanted yourself killed, he would have followed your wishes..."  
"Wh... what are you saying? Are you saying that I wished for YOU to die?" Anya asked angrily.  
"Anya, I'm saying that you subconsciously wished to live so much that you would allow yuor best friend to be taken in your place. It's no biggie, really."  
"It IS a big deal, Halfrek!" Anya stood and began to pace around before her. "I didn't want you dead! And I miss you, so much! I just want you back!" Anya stopped and looked at Hallie for a moment. "Why ARE you back."  
"I got bored."  
"Okay, then HOW are you back?" Anya repeated. Hallie shrugged.  
"I guess I wished it."  
"But you're dead."  
"D'Hoffryn works in mysterious ways." Hallie smiled as Anya poked a finger directly through her friend.  
"Damnit! You're the First!" Anya shrieked.  
"Well... okay." Hallie agreed and stood. "But that doesn't mean we can't still be friends."  
"Of course it does, Hallie. You're now the essence of everything that's evil!" Anya whined. "I can't be friends with you now! I'll feel all... dirty..."  
"I thought you LIKED feeling dirty..."  
"With XANDER! Did you NEVER listen to me when... okay... stop, Anya. This is not Hallie."  
"Yes it is!" Hallie replied.  
"NO! You are the First! The First Evil! And we're eventually going to defeat you!" Anya exclaimed. Hallie laughed.  
"Honey, you can't defeat evil." Hallie giggled, "Defeating evil is like trying to rid the world of men!"  
"Fun but fruitless..."  
"Exactly!" Hallie laughed. "Ah... nothing's changed, has it?" Anya glared.  
"Yeah... except you DIED!" she replied. Hallie rolled her eyes.  
"Will you just get OVER that already? It's in the past! It's time we moved on and did something together! Let's go... let's go to nebraska!" Hallie exclaimed.  
"I don't wanna go to Nebraska with PURE EVIL." Anya turned away from Hallie.  
"Okay... why don't we go to Minsk?"  
"Minsk?" Anya asked excitedly. "DAMN! No! You can't use Minsk against me! That's not fair! That's... that's..."  
"Evil?" Hallie smiled. "It's what I am, baby. Pure and vengeful."  
"You've become much more unpleasant since your death." Anya moaned.  
"Well... you would too." Hallie smiled, sitting down. "And you will."  
"What?" Anya asked, confused.  
"You're going to die soon, sweetheart. I'm not going to let YOU make it through my battle." Anya sat, upset.  
"But... why not? I'm... I'm so pretty!" Anya whined.  
"Because you wouldn't come with me to Minsk."  
"You can't take evil to Minsk!"  
"Can too!" Hallie retorted.  
"Can not!" Anya shrieked.  
"Can too!"  
"Can not!" Anya repeated.  
"Spider-man did!"  
"No he didn't!" Anya screamed.  
"Yes he did!" Hallia crossed her legs, looking away from Anya.  
"Damnit, where's Xander when you need him?" Anya whined.  
"Probably leaving you at the alter!" Hallie laughed uncontrollably. Anya stood.  
"See, Hallie. This is why I don't go to Minsk with you. You're a horrible bitch!" Anya screamed. Hallie stood, shocked expression on her face.  
"Anyanka!" Hallie began to cry.  
"Oh, Hallie! I didn't mean..." Anya went to hug her, but merely fell through her essence. Anya hit the floor, and glared back at Hallie. "Damnit, first evil! That was SO mean!"  
"Well, I am EVIL." Hallie rolled her eyes. "You Sunnydale people really are morons."  
"Get out, Hallie. I'm tired of you now." Anya sat on the couch, ignoring Hallie.  
"Oh, Anya, I..."  
"What's that? Did Anya hear something? Nope. She certainly didn't!"  
"Anya..."  
"NOPE! QUIET AS A MOUSE AROUND HERE!" Andrew stormed into the room.  
"I'm cooking! That's Andrew's quiet time! YOU KNOW THAT!" Andrew stormed out of the room.  
"Well, that was interesting." Hallie said, sitting behind Anya. Anya turned around.  
"Well, Hallie, that was..." Anya started. She noticed that no longer was the first evil in the form of Hallie, but a man. "Oh... oh my God..."  
"Hello, Anyanka." he smiled.  
"A... Avery?" Anya asked timidly.  
"Yes, Anyanka. It's me. Avery." he smiled and she stared into his eyes.  
"My... my husband, I..." she began. He shushed her.  
"It's alright, my beloved. It wasn't your fault. You weren't to blame for my death." he smiled, "Of course, you are to blame for the battle that resulted in my death..."  
"That was NOT my fault. You see, I was just talking to that man, and he asked my opinion, and I told him that he looked a little bit... feminine..." Anya smiled.  
"You told him that it looked like he was going to marry a giant talking penis." Avery replied.  
"Well... he didn't seem to take it very well..." Anya started.  
"Anyanka, I'm so sorry I was unable to save you from that battle..." he began.  
"Oh, Avery! You were a little busy at that point... I don't know how I ever expected you to dodge those seven cannonballs... forty flying bullets... and three flaming arrows... all at once..." Anya started.  
"Yes... that fire you started around me didn't help much."  
"Well... I was mad. And you provoked that fire."  
"How did I provoke THAT?" Avery asked angrily.  
"You said I looked PREGNANT!" Anya screamed.  
"Anyanka! I asked if you would consider having my child!" Avery exclaimed.  
"I would NEVER eat a baby!" Avery sighed and looked at the floor a moment. He looked back at Anya again.  
"That's all behind us now. Why can't we be together?"  
"Well... because you've been dead for quite some time... and I'm not really into pirates anymore... I mean, you WERE quite the swash-buckler for your time, but..."  
"There's someone else, isn't there?" Avery asked. "You said I was the only one you could ever love! You said you would never marry ANYONE but me!"  
"Well, I was in love at the time! And you were a FANTASTIC second husband, but..."  
"Second husband? There was a husband before me?"  
"Yes. Olaf." Anya replied. "He's a Troll God."  
"You married a Troll?" Avery asked.  
"He wasn't a Troll at the time. And that's not the point! You're the stupid first evil! And you can't get to me! Never! No!" Anya screamed, stood and left the room.  
"...what is it with this house?" Avery asked himself. "One week they're afraid of you, the next you can't make them flinch..."  
  
Xander lifted the beam over his shoulder and began to walk toward the correct area. In highschool he hadn't dreamed that construction would be his profession. He had never imagined, when he took the job, that he would have such a passion for it, either. Xander turned the corner, noticing a young woman on the site. He placed the beam on the ground and quickly rushed over to her.  
"Excuse me, miss... you can't be here." He told her. She turned to him, smiling.  
"I'm sorry... I... I became lost." she replied.  
"Here, let me take you off of the site... or at least get you a hard hat." Xander escorted her toward a safer area. "So... what's your name?"  
"My name is Ampada." she replied.  
"That's a pretty name." Xander replied as they reached a small office and he reached for a hard hat to put on her.  
"Thank you. You WERE the only man I ever loved. Now I can see why." she replied. He gave a puzzled look.  
"Who the..." Xander examined her a moment, then shock became his expression. "Ampada... you're kinda... dead..." Xander finally noticed that the hard hat had fallen directly through her.  
"Twice, actually." she replied.  
"I heard THAT before." Xander looked around. "I didn't realise that the First Evil would follow me to a construction site."  
"So you know."  
"Yeah. I'm also kinda wondering why you chose Ampada... I mean... she didn't impact heavily on my life. Sure, we dated for, what, a week? Then she tried to kill me..."  
"I DIED for you, Xander!" Ampada exclaimed. "I loved you enough to give up my life, and that means nothing to you?"  
"Well, maybe a little tingle." he smiled. "Now, why don't just go away, and I'll call you never?" Xander began to walk away.  
"Xander! Dude, don't leave me like this!" Xander turned, completely shocked now.  
"J... Jesse..." Xander started.  
"Amazing! The wonderful Xander remembers my name, after ALL these years..."  
"Well... you were my best friend, man..."  
"Until Buffy came to town. Then I suddenly died and did anyone care?" Jesse asked. Xander threw his hard hat to the ground.  
"We ALL cared, Jesse! Me, Willow, even Buffy!" Xander exclaimed.  
"No you didn't! After I died, you immediately replaced me with HER and a librarian! A freaking librarian, man! Come on!" Jesse screamed. "And none of you have even spoken my name since the night you killed me!"  
"You were a vampire! You were already dead!" Xander retorted.  
"And you didn't try to put my soul back in, now did ya?"  
"I staked you by accident! I wanted to save you, remember?" Xander asked.  
"But you didn't seem to mind that you had to be the one to kill me. And then, you went after Cordelia Chase?" Jesse asked angrily.  
"You know about that, do ya?"  
"Of course, Xander! I wanted Cordelia since fifth grade, and she never gave me the light of day! Then you swoop in and have her no problem? Not fair." Jesse whined. "Was it too much for you guys to have some sort of mourning for me?"  
"We mourned." Xander replied.  
"No! You didn't! You didn't even tell my parents what happened to me. You just let them think I ran away, or disappeared. If you had ACTUALLY cared, you might've actually spoken about me sometime later on. I'd be surprised if any of you even remember my last name!" Jesse waited for a response. "Yeah. That's what I thought."  
"This isn't fair, Jesse. We had a completely new world just opened up to us, you can't expect us to remember every little detail, and..."  
"Little detail? Xander! You, and me, and Willow were all BEST FRIENDS since KINDERGARTEN! And until grade TEN we never seperated! How can I be just a LITTLE DETAIL of your LIFE?" Jesse asked. Xander wiped his brow.  
"Jesse... we cared for you, but when someone turns into a vampire... it..."  
"It deserves both a little tenderness and CARING." Jesse responded.  
"This isn't fair!" Xander shrieked. He turned, noticing the other men on the site staring at him, noticing he was speaking to nobody. "Jesse, our lives had just been turned upside down, Willow and I were trying to deal as best we could..."  
"By cutting every memory of ME out of your lives? Real nice, Xan." Jesse replied. "I always wondered what would've happened if I just left, but I had hoped it would involve people missing and/or remembering me."  
"Jesse. I'm sorry you had to die. We've lost a lot of our people over the years, and I'm sorry that you had to be one of them." Xander picked up his hard hat, replacing it on his head. "Goodbye, Jesse." Xander walked away, leaving Jesse floating just slightly above the ground. He smiled.  
"I feel that one cause psychological warfare for our favourite scoobie..." Jesse disappeared.  
  
"What're you doing?" someone asked. Willow didn't bother looking up from her book.  
"I'm reading." she replied simply.  
"What're you reading?" they asked.  
"It's about a girl accused of murder." Willow replied, again without looking up from the book. The person laughed a little. "What's so funny about..."  
"Well, being a murderer yourself, I just find it... odd..." Warren started. Willow's eyes widened.  
"What do you want?"  
"I just want to talk." Warren replied. "So. How was your trip inside my body?"  
"Kinda hairy. What do you want?"  
"I just want to talk. Sheesh. Can't a guy get a break around here?"  
"Not when he's pure evil and non-coporeal." Willow replied.  
"Touché, dear Willow. So, how ARE you mystical urges? Still inclined to go power hungry and flay things?" Warren asked, smiling.  
"...no. I'm good. I just like the quiet now." Willow replied, closing her book.  
"Wow. Done already. How was it?"  
"A little too violent for me." Willow replied. Warren stood behind her.  
"Mmm. Your hair smells so pretty." He smiled as she turned and walked through him. "Oh, come on. Not even a laugh?"  
"You're not particularily funny." Willow responded, glaring at the first evil. "I'm asking one more time: what do you want?" Warren shrugged his shoulders.  
"I want vengeance. I want you to go black-eyed girl and kill all of your friends! I want you to become a sleeper agent like Spike was and kill all of the potentials in their sleep. I want to see blood on your hands the same colour as your hair."  
"Hmm. Creepy."  
"I try."  
"Well, it's not going to happen." Willow told him. "I have my urges under control and I'm not going to kill anything. I don't even have to use magic anymore. I can control myself, and therefore cannot control the paths of others."  
"Well, when you and your Buffy friends are fighting me to the end, you know you're going to have to use magic." Warren told her.  
"I know."  
"It's going to be the biggest, hardest spell of your life, and you might not even make it. You might go insane, but most likely you'll just have your insides ripped out by one of your ever-so-loyal friends in order to keep themselves from dying. I can't see you surviving past the battle. Of course, I can't see you all ending the battle in victory." Warren smiled. "That was like a cheery Buffy speech, wasn't it?"  
"You're not going to win. You will never win. If you really observed Buffy's habits, you would realise that good always conquers evil." Willow glared. "It worked on me. It worked on Buffy. It even worked on Spike. You will not win the battle; you will not be heard from again."  
"And how do you expect to win, little girl?" Warren asked.  
"By being the best that I can be." Willow turned away.  
"By being strong? Like an Amazon?" Willow turned to see Tara behind her.  
"Tara..."  
"You won't win, sweetheart. I've seen your path, and you're going to kill them all." Tara smiled. "Every last one of them. Even Dawn."  
"Shut up. You aren't Tara."  
"Oh, come now, Willow. You never really thought that I loved you, did you? You had to put spells on me in order to keep me. I tried to escape at the first sign of boys, but you wouldn't allow it. You're power hungry, you're evil, and you will never again feel love." Tara laughed.  
"I already have love. Her name is Kennedy." Willow said snottily.  
"Ooh. Potential!" Tara mocked. "It'll never be what we have. The first chance I get to, I'm going to rip Kennedy's face off and feed it to Noodles." Willow stood in confusion a moment.  
"Did you say... 'feed it to Noodles'?" Willow asked.  
"Noodles... I named my Turak-Han..."  
"Very nice. Noodles the Uber-vamp." Willow mocked. "You can't touch me, you can't touch my friends, and you can't touch my lover." Willow walked through Tara. "You're not Tara, and you never could be. Tara had a pure soul, and I loved her very much. You disgust me."  
"Well. When you're going to sleep tonight, I just hope you think of me. Tara. Watching you. Waiting for the perfect moment to have you killed."  
"Tara would never..." Willow began.  
"It's funny. Because now... this is going to be your last memory of dear, sweet Tara." she smiled. "Mocking you, threatening you..."  
"No..."  
"I know that you picture me when you kiss Kennedy. You don't really love her..."  
"Yet."  
"Is she just a replacement?" Tara asked. "Or might it turn into something?"  
"It might."  
"Well. Do it before I kill her. Then I can watch you cry." Tara disappeared into nothing, leaving Willow to cry to herself. 


	3. Evil's Laugh

Dawn sat in the classroom, listening to the teacher mutter on about the equations that were so important to their learning process. She quickly scribbled down her notes so that they were legible enough for her to read, however, since they were math, she was still unable to understand them.  
Dawn looked to the door of the classroom, noticing a girl standing there, waving to her. She looked around the room, but nobody else seemed to notice her. The girl waved for Dawn to go with her, somewhere. Dawn raised her hand.  
"Yes? Ms. Summers?" the teacher asked.  
"May I go to the washroom? Please?" Dawn asked politely; the teacher nodded and turned back to the chalkboard. Dawn rushed out of the room, the girl was now slightly down the hallway.  
"Hi, Dawn! Long time no see, eh?" she asked.  
"Cassie?" Dawn was surprised. "But you're..."  
"Dead? Yeah. I wish you people would stop getting so hung up on that, I mean, we ARE on the Hellmouth and all." Cassie laughed. "So, how've you been?"  
"Uhm... pretty good... I guess..." Dawn began, "...are you...?"  
"In heaven? I'm not really sure. I think I'm more in... what would you call it? Limbo, I guess? I dunno... it's just weird. Like I'm cursed to wander the world for eternity." Cassie chuckled. "It's kind of like I never left at all... except I have less friends over to the house..."  
"That's... understandable..." Dawn began.  
"You're pretty freaked out about this, aren't you? I'm sorry! I should just leave you alone... I mean, you've got to get back to class and all..." Cassie started.  
"No! Wait... uhm... you're... I mean, you WERE my friend, and..." Dawn started.  
"Yeah. You don't have too many friends, do you Dawnie?" Cassie asked. Dawn stared, startled.  
"...what?" Dawn asked. Cassie smiled.  
"Well, I just mean... I've been watching you, and you... you don't really seem to... to keep friends for very long..." Cassie stopped smiling, "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have... I mean, I don't even have ANY friends at the moment, so..."  
"But you're DEAD..." Dawn repeated.  
"Yup. It's still true. No matter how many time you say it, it will never stop being true, that's for sure." Cassie laughed.  
"You seem... pretty upbeat for someone who's dead..." Dawn told her. Cassie nodded.  
"I just try to look at the bright side of life... or... of the afterlife. I guess that's what mine is right now, right? The afterlife? I mean, you know a lot about this kind of stuff, right?" Cassie asked.  
"Have... have you been watching my friends aswell?" Dawn asked in confusion.  
"...yeah. I know everything. I know about the vampires, the demons, the slayers, the potentials... the first evil." Cassie started.  
"So... are you here to warn me of something?" Dawn asked quietly, looking around to make sure that nobody was near.  
"Kinda... I... we... those who are dead. We're able to... see the future of the people... no... that's not completely right. Uh... we're able to see the paths that an individual is going to take. And I've seen your path." Cassie informed her.  
"So... should I be worried?" Dawn asked, laughing to herself.  
"You should be petrified." Dawn stood in shock.  
"Wh... why? What's going to happen?" Dawn asked in fright.  
"You aren't your sister, Dawn. You have to be careful."  
"I am careful! Cassie... what's going to happen?"  
"Dawn... choose your allies and your enemies carefully. Those who you think you can trust, you can't; those you think will protect you, won't. You're in deep trouble and it's not going to get any better until it gets infinately worse. You're going to want to die, and you will; very slowly. It will be the most painful and horrific experience of your life." Cassie explained.  
"No... isn't there a way to change that?" Dawn asked, tears welling up in her eyes. "Isn't there some way that I can get... get passed all of the pain? All of the death? Is there no way to defeat evil?"  
"Evil cannot be destroyed, Dawn. I thought you would know that by now." Cassie told her. "You're not going to see it coming, but when it does, watch out." Cassie slowly disappeared.  
"Cassie! Wait!" Dawn exclaimed.  
"I only have so much time..." Cassie mumbled as she faded away. Dawn's expression had changed dramatically through the course of the conversation. Now she was worried about her life and future, wondering if she really even had to go back to math class. She turned, only to be met with the figure of her mother.  
"M... mom?" Dawn asked, the tears welling back into her eyes and rolling down her cheeks. Joyce nodded. "Mommy?"  
"Hello, Dawn." Joyce smiled.  
"Mom... I..."  
"Dawn. I need to speak to you. Everything that Cassie told you. It's completely true. Remember when I said that Buffy won't choose you? She won't. Watch out for Buffy. Although you may not believe it right now, she will be your biggest enemy. If Buffy had the chance to go back to the night she died, and throw you off the tower in her place... she would."  
"What?" Dawn asked, scared.  
"Buffy doesn't love you, Dawn. None of them do." Joyce smiled.  
"You're not my mother." Dawn said; Joyce's smile faded.  
"Why do I always go too far? I keep trying to get people to kill themselves, but I always just go THAT much farther, and..." Joyce continued.  
"Shut up!" Dawn screamed. "That night... with the demon... was that YOU... or was that my mother?" Joyce smiled, laughing a little.  
"Oh, Dawn. If I told you that, it wouldn't be a funny little game anymore. If might've been ME, meaning you shouldn't listen to the advice in any manner. It also could have been your mother. Meaning you should listen to absolutely everything that she has to say. It's your decision as to who you listen to, but..."  
"Was it you?" Joyce smiled.  
"Bye, Dawnie. Love ya." Joyce vanished, leaving Dawn alone in the hallway to contemplate her thoughts.  
  
"Slow day, is it?" a man wandered into Buffy's counselling cubicle.  
"Well, you know how it is. Some days you'll get a bunch of stressed nerds, three teen pregnancies, a boy wanting to commit suicide and a girl who thinks she might be the devil, whereas other days you get nobody." Buffy replied. "So how may I help you, mister..." Buffy looked at the man, sitting in shock. "Merrick."  
"Glad you recognise me, my dear!" Merrick smiled gleefully.  
"A girl doesn't easily forget her first watcher." Buffy sat back. "Is this a dream?"  
"Quite possibly." Merrick replied. "It's your head not mine."  
"That's true." Buffy replied.  
"Plus, I'm dead... so it most likely IS a dream." He leaned forward, placing one hand on the desk, and laughed.  
"That doesn't really prove anything, I mean... I've been dead a few times myself..." Buffy began.  
"I wouldn't have let that happen to you. Not even ONCE." Merrick told her. Buffy smiled. "You were the BEST slayer I ever trained. Smart... witty..."  
"Keen fashion sense..." the two of them smiled. Merrick sat back in his chair.  
"You gave up so much for your calling... a calling you didn't even WANT..."  
"I gave up TOO much... it wasn't fair what you made me do. I lost my friends... I lost my boyfriend... my family split up..." Buffy continued.  
"Because in the end: the slayer is always alone." Merrick told her. "I always told you that, and in the upcoming battle, it will prove more true than ever. Buffy, I need you to listen like you've never listened to me before."  
"That'll be easy, because I never did." Buffy replied. Merrick smiled.  
"True enough. Evil cannot be destroyed. That is key."  
"So, what? I should just... give up? Let my sister die? Let my friends die? Let the world get sucked into Hell? Give up my own life? Again?" Buffy stood angrily. "I'm tired of people trying to tell me what to do. I'm tired of recieving orders that force me into the horrible decisions that I really can't make."  
"It's what the slayer is. Your power is rooted in darkness, and therefore, to survive in battle, you must embrace your darkness." Merrick told her.  
"No. I have no darkness. There will be NO embracing of darkness, either! I will do things my way from now on. Not your way, not Giles's way, not anybody's! I am the slayer! The chosen one! The one girl who can fight the vampires. I can fight the darkness. It's my job." Buffy explained.  
"When I told you that, you never believed me." Merrick told her, crossing one leg over the other.  
"That's because I thought you were a random crazy hobo." Buffy replied. "And anyway, you don't say it as well as I do." the two of them smiled at each other. "Is there anything else I can do for you? Anything else that you're here for?"  
"It's your dream, Buffy..." Merrick began.  
"Is it? Doesn't smell like a dream. Doesn't feel like a dream. I could walk into Principal Wood's office, stab him, and that wouldn't SEEM like a dream. Would it?" Buffy asked.  
"I dare you to find out." Merrick smiled; Buffy stepped out of her cubicle. She turned back around to see Merrick gone, Angel in his place.  
"Angel." Buffy started. He smiled.  
"The one and only." he replied.  
"I'd believe that more if you were the first evil. Trying to get into my head for some reason that I'm currently unaware of." Buffy told him. "What is it that you want?"  
"I just want to talk. I want to learn your secrets. I want to share my own secrets."  
"You want to share secrets? Alright. How can I destroy you?" Buffy asked happily.  
"Very funny. Evil cannot be destroyed, it cannot be contained. I am evil and evil is everywhere. Wherever evil is I am. If there's a little boy taking a little girl's doll, I'm there. If there's a man robbing a store, I'm there. If there's..."  
"I GET IT! What's wrong with you? Do you feel the need to explain just how evil you are every single time you come into contact with another being? It isn't a hard concept to grasp, okay? You're evil! WE GET IT!" Buffy screamed. Principal Wood stepped out of his office, giving her a strange look. "Uh... sorry, Robin... just... just practicing for when another student needs me." Buffy smiled as Wood returned to his office.  
"Come on, lover... don't you just wanna..." Angel began.  
"No. You are not Angel and I would appreciate you not insulting my intelligence by pretending you are." Buffy exclaimed. Angel laughed.  
"Sweetheart, I AM Angel. Maybe not physically, but I'm the evil within him." Angel transformed into Warren, then to Glory, "I'm the evil in everybody, baby." Glory turned into ADAM, then the Mayor, "I have more power than you can even imagine." He transformed into Spike, Drusilla and the Master. He smiled. "I am the first..." he transformed into Lothos, the vampire who killed his watcher. "See? I can be a Hell-God... or a mere mortal... or Lothos!"  
"You may LOOK like them. But you don't have their power. You're a pathetic excuse for a villain." Buffy sat behind her desk once more, watching as Lothos transformed into herself.  
"I am the evil in YOU." Buffy sat in shock, hearing this said to herself, from herself. "Don't underestimate me slayer. You're going down, and there's no chance of you winning." The First Evil disappeared, leaving Buffy truly alone.  
"Don't be so sure." 


End file.
